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Previous Section 07: Yorkshire
Previous Chapter 07.A : Yorkshire

Section 08 : Herefordshire from 1592

Chapter 08.A: Much Cowarne & Felton 1592-1745

Herefordshire is an English county to the northwest of Gloucestershire, on the border with Wales.  Felton is about 8 miles north-east of the county town of Hereford.  Much Cowarne is four miles to the southeast of Felton.

Most of the entries in the first part of this section are from Felton itself but there are also references to the nearby villages of Bodenham, Ullingswick, Little Cowarne, Much Cowarne, Pencombe and others.  From Bodenham in the northwest to Much Cowarne in the southeast is just 7 miles.  As can be seen in the larger scale map a little further down.

The first entries are in the parish register of Much Cowarne in the 1590s.  William BRUSHE [H1] baptises three children:

William [H2] in 1592

John [H3] in 1593

Elizabeth [H4] in 1599

William [H1] is probably therefore born in or around the period 1560 to 1570.  Records from that period are few and far between but there is a possibility (though no more than that) that he was William[T503] baptised in Tewkesbury in 1565, son of John[T502].  There is no later record of him at Tewkesbury and the Tewkesbury chapter already speculates that John[T502] had moved to Upton upon Severn, which is a step towards Felton.  This link is very speculative (Much Cowarne and Upton upon Severn are 18 miles apart) but it seems unlikely that there is any other evidence to discover.

On 11th May 1615 Gulielmus (William) BRUSH or BRICE (presumably, but not necessarily William[H2] baptised in 1592, age 23) marries Margeria at Much Cowarne.  In the BFBI database I have made this assumption.

(There is another record for a Gulielmus (William) BRUSH to Margaretae HORSEMAN at St Weonards on 1st December 1632. St Weonards is 10 miles south of Hereford and 10 miles west of Ross on Wye. It is an isolated record at an otherwise unknown location at a distance from all other BRUSH entries - the bride's village(1)?  There are other contemporary Horseman entries at St Weonards and there was in the late 1500s/early 1600s a well established Horseman family in Llangarron just three miles from St Weonards. It is 19 miles south of Felton. In the BFBI data base I have included her as a second wife of William but this is rather wilder speculation than I would normally accept.

The Parish Register of Felton records four BRUSH families between 1645 and 1652.

James BRUSH (recorded as Jacobus)[H6] marries Mary TAYLOR on 10 October 1645. James and Mary baptise three children:

Mary [H9] on 28 February 1645

Jocosa [H10] on 18 September 1649.  Jocosa marries William DAVIS at Bodenham on 23 February 1678.

James [H11] on 8 June 1652

Henry BRUSH [H5] and Frances appear at the baptism of one child:

Thomas [H12] baptised 1645

Gulielmus (William) BRUSH [H7]gets married to Joanna HODGES in 1649 .

Mary BRUSH [H8] marries Thomas NASHE on 21 Febraury 1652 (or 1642?), (3).

It is possible, even likely, that James, Henry, William and Mary were siblings (born in or around the period 1615 to 1627) and it seems therefore quite possible that they were children of William [H2] bap 1592, mar 1615 (2).  The dates and locations are very close.  But Mary could have been the widow of James, and William[H7] could be William[H2] marrying for a third time.

At 1645 the English Civil War was well underway.  This would have been a part of their early adult lives as Herefordshire saw considerable action in the first part of the war, though no major battles.  The county was 'mainly' Royalist though Hereford itself, like other cities, included more who were supportive of or sympathetic to Parliament.  The first action of any size seems to have been the arrival in Hereford in October 1642 of a Parliamentary regiment of 1000 foot soldiers and four troops of horse headed by Stamford to 'strengthen' the city's position.  They came there from Worcester, having previously marched from London as part of Essex's army.  The route from Worcester to Hereford was apparently via Bromyard and the route from Bromyard to Hereford passes directly between Felton and Much Cowarne - what is now the A465.  Despite some small initial resistance the city was taken without a fight.  In December 1642, Parliament ordered the regiment to leave Hereford and move south to garrison Gloucester.  A second siege took place in ???? .  The most significant siege was by a Scottish army, of about 8,000 foot soldiers and 4,000 cavalry, supporting Parliament who arrived on 31 July 1645. I mention the exact date only because it is my birthday!

Part of FWB's hand crafted location map; a combination of tracing paper, pencil, typewriter and hand drawing. With some added locations he did not then know.

James the younger [H11], bapt 8 June 1652, married Mary BOULCOTT on 13 November 1679 (or this Banns date?) at Felton and they baptise three children there:

Susanna [H15] on 24 July 1680

Mary [H16] on 14 September 1682

James[H17] on 13 October 1685

On 14 February 1684 (OS or NS?) a John BRUSH [H13] estimated birth c.1656) marries Margery BALL at Felton but we have no record of his baptism.  It is entirely possible given the dates that he was a brother of Mary, Jocosa and James (the children of James[H6] and Mary) and I have shown him as such in the BFBI database, to avoid an unlinked individual.  Though he could equally be a child of William the younger[H7] or Henry[H5].  John and Margery have two sons: John H13 8714 Margery BALL H13a 8715 James H14 Philip H15 8718 Anne BIVEN H15a 8719

James [H18] baptised (at Felton?) 1685 (4 Jan? AMcD)

Phillip[H19] baptised at Felton on 22 July 1688.  His story is continued below.

Note that we have two James BRUSH baptised in 1685 by different parents.

Richard BRUSH[H14] and Mary appear nearby in Little Cowarne about 2 miles north-east of Felton from 1692. There is no record of his baptism or marriage. Under the '30 before first child rule' would have been born around 1662. Which may be a bit late to make him a child of James BRUSH and Mary TAYLOR of Felton or of Henry. Maybe a nephew, a son of William who married a little later? Richard and Mary baptise twelve children, all at Little Cowarne - which is a tiny rural parish.

Richard[H20], the son of Richard BRUSH[H14] and Mary is baptised on 23.7.1695 (Ancestry/FHL says died 24.10.1695). Another son, Philip[H21], is baptised on 19.4.1702. It seems likely that son Richard died as a child as another son Richard[H22] is baptised on 19.3.1703. John[H23] is baptised on 9.5.1706 and Thomas[H24] on 17.6.1708. A single family tree chart by FWB for Richard and Mary of Little Cowarne (without the usual slip containing supporting information) shows additional children. The dates are presumably baptisms: Elizabeth[H25] 28.2.1692, John[H26] 18.9.1696 (Ancestry/FHL says died 20.09.1696), John[H27]17.10.1697 (Ancestry/FHL says died 29.10.1697), Mary[H28] 13.10.1698 , John [H29] 9.5.1706, James[H30] 25.3.1711, Anne[H31] 25.3.1711) and Margarett[H32] 8.3.1712. The first two Johns presumably died in infancy. Info also in Ancestry (referenced as Little Cowarne, Hereford rather than Litle Cowarne, Herefordshire) but with no images - presumably just an FHL listing.

'Jn' (John?) BRUSH married My (Mary) POLLIS at Withington 25th July 1715.  Withington is near Lugwardine and Yarkhill, about 5 miles south of Felton and the Cowarnes on the way to Hereford.   John[H29] baptised 1706 is too young.  The only other John we know of have is John[H13](estimated birth 1654-1663) who would be in his fiftes. I have tentativly treated this as a second marriage of John[H13] but he may be an otherwise unknown charecter - possibly a son of William, James or John.

The material looked at so far produces a tree looking like this:

James BRUSH marries Mary SPENCER at Felton on 28 April 1717.  Unfortunatly there are two possible candidates for Mary SPENCER's husband.  He could be James[H17] the son of James Brush and Mary nee BOULCOTT or James [H18] the son of John Brush and Margery nee BALL; both James had been baptised in Felton in 1685.  There is nothing to indicate which.  In the BFBI database, the trees shown on this site, and those published on the Ancestry and Wikitree sites I have made an arbitrary choice of showing James the husband of Mary SPENCER as being the son of James BRUSH[H11] and Mary BOULCOTT and of showing John BRUSH[H13] as his uncle. To make the BFBI, Ancestry and Wikipedia database systems work it is necessary to plump for one or the other but at least I have declared it in this narrative.  James BRUSH and Mary (SPENCER) baptise three children at Felton:

James[H34] on 27 April 1718

John[H35] on 3 December 1719

Mary[H36] on 19 February 1720.  She may be the Mary who marries Thomas BAKER on 25 May 1745 at Little Cowarne.

Philip BRUSH marries Anne BIVEN at Pencombe, Herefordshire on1 January 1717 (or 1716 or 1718 depending on how old style/new style dates have been handled).  A good fit to the only known Philip [H19], the son of John, baptised 1688.  Pencombe is about three miles north of Felton.  Their story continues in chapter 08.B concerning familes at Bosbury.  The published Calendar of marriage licences issued by the Faculty Office, 1632-1714(4) shows a licence issued on 5 July 1708 to Phillip BRUSH and Catherine DABBS. It gives no indication of their location so might be nothing to do with the Philip we know of in Herefordshire. It could be a first marriage of Philip[H19] as he would then still have been a minor. I'm aware of only one alternative around this time, in London.

Mary BRUSH marries John PHILLIPS at Felton on 12 November 1720.  There seem to be four possibilities of who Mary was.

The following paragraphs were written in October 2015. And it all fitted neatly to the available evidence.

"In 1728 and 1730 three deaths are recorded at Bishops Frome which is just to the east of Much Cowarne.

One is Philip in 1728. This is not Philip[H19] bapt 1688, son of John, who marries Anne Biven. The only other Philip we know of is Philip[H21] bapt 1702, a son of Richard.

The second is John in 1728. Nothing further is known of John[H29] (1706, brother of Philip) so that is a reasonable possibility.

The third death is of Mary in 1730. This could be their mother[H14a] or sister[H28].

An 'Ancestry' tree suggests that Richard[H22], bapt 1703, emigrated to Virginia in 1731. There is certainly an emigration record of a Richard going to the US in 1731 and I am waiting to hear if the conection is corroborated or just a coincidence of dates. It would certainly fit in a story if his two brothers and mother or sister had all died in the preceeding three years."

A week later a fresh online search produced two baptisms and a marriage I had not previously known of.

Philip[H37], the son of James and Mary BRUSH baptised at Bishops-Frome on 27 April 1726.

Mary[H38] the daughter of Mary BRUSH baptised at Clun in Shropshire on 10 December 1729

'Jn' (John?) BRUSH married My (Mary) POLLIS at Withington 25th July 1715, as mentioned above.

The first entry for Philip changes all the assumptions. It is an object lesson in how links that seem convincing may be wrong. Philip who dies in Bishops Frome in 1728 now seems more likely to be the Philip born there in 1726. His parents James and Mary could be James and Mary (nee SPENCER) who had three children previously at Felton. But there were two men called James BRUSH[H17] and [H18 ] who could have married Mary SPENCER. The father of Philip could be the other one - Mary is a common enough name for this to be possible.

The John and Mary who die at Bishops Frome in 1730 could therefore equally well be John[H35] (1719, Felton) and Mary[H36] (1720, Felton) children of James and Mary (nee SPENCER) or Mary could have been Mary the mother of Philip. If that was not Mary SPENCER then possibly John (c. 1656) who could have been the grandfather of Philip.

Or the deaths are of John and Mary are of the couple who married at Withington in 1715. And Philip was their son? I guess we will never know.

Mary[H38], baptised 1729, daughter of Mary is a complete mystery. Clun in Shropshire is an isolated location. It is not a huge distance from Felton, about 33 miles, but there is no apparent link and there is no Brush family group in Shropshire. The Hereford BRUSH grouping is the nearest of any to Shropshire. Mary, the mother has to have been born sometime between 1684(i.e. age 45) and 1713 (age 16).

One option seems to be that she was young and unmarried and sent away for the sake of discretion. But the BRUSH families of Herefordshire do not seem to have particularly grand. The other is that she was married (or recently widowed) and that Clun was her family home. Possible options are:

An unmarried Mary[H16] (1682, Felton), daughter of James BRUSH and Mary BOULCOTT. Unlikely. She would be 47.

An unmarried Mary[H28] (1698, Little Cowarne), daughter of Richard and Mary. She would be 31.

Either of these two could have also married John PHILLIPS at Felton in 1720.

Mary, nee SPENCER, the wife or widow of James.

Mary, the mother of Philip, wife or widow of James.

Mary the wife or Widow of John who married in

On 23 February 1735 Thomas BRUSH marries Elizabeth HOLT at Felton. The only known candidate is Thomas[H24] (bapt.1708, son of Richard) One child, Thomas[H39] is baptised at Ullingswick in 1739(40). In chapter 8.C we encounter an Ann[H53] getting married who could possibly be a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth.

At this point we seem to move on to the next generation.

A Mary BRUSH marries Thomas BAKER in 1745 in Little Cowarne which is only about 3 miles away from Felton. She could be Mary[H36] (bapt 1720, Felton)the daughter of James BRUSH and Mary (nee SPENCER). That is the best fit for a marriage at 'normal' age. But there are several other possible candidates. She could be Mary[H28] (1698, Little Cowarne) marrying very late.

On 10 March 1761(Old or new?) yet another Mary Brush marries William Dalloe at Bodenham. As ever there are multiple possible Marys.

The record in Felton and its adjacent villages stops at this point. The active family seems to have moved about ten miles south-east to Bosbury (chapter 8.B)and to Fownhope (chapter 8.C).

There are two marriages that can fit with Thomas[H39], the son of Thomas and Elizabeth . The first in 1766 to Elizabeth Preece at Bosbury (where BRUSH cousins then lived )when he would have been 27 and a second in 1779 to Elizabeth BADHAM at Moreton Jeffries when he would have been 40. Which is a bit late for a first marriage but perfectly possible. FWB suggests that Philip and Anne of Pencombe/Bodenham/Bosbury had a third unrecorded child, also Thomas, who married in Bosbury. I have plumped for Thomas, son of Richard, marrying twice. Which at least avoids inventing people! There are no known children from the first marriage but one daughter Elizabeth was baptised at Moreton Jeffries in 1779 soon after the marriage to Elizabeth BADHAM.

The NBI records three burials in Yarkhill, which is roughly midway between Felton, Bosbury and Fownhope. Elizabeth in 1808, Elizabeth in 1809 and Thomas in 1816. Thomas is recorded as age which places his birth as 1739. Which all looks like a convincing link for Thomas[H39].

Additionally, in the 1841 census Frances Brush, a widow age 70-74 (thus born 1766-71) is living at Yarkhill She could have been the wife of several BRUSH men recorded as born around that time. Or the widow of an unrecorded son of Thomas who had died in Yarkhill 1816 and one of his Elizabeths.

Next Chapter 08.B : Bosbury 1717-1771

(1) back to text    A property document from 1661 in the National Archive records includes reference to "John Horsman, Yeoman, of St. Wannards" which seems to be the same village.

(2) back to text    I have shown them as such in the BFBI database. The estimated birth dates use my standard assumption of marriage at 28 for men, 25 for women and first baptisms of children at age 30. See Section 1 of the BFBI

(3) back to text    An Ancestry search shows several NASHE families in Pembridge, Marden (just to the west of Felton), Bosbury and Tarrington but it has not been possible to find an obvious match for Thomas.

(4) back to text    Issued by the British Record Society, 1905; available online at https://ia800204.us.archive.org/5/items/calendarofmarria33chur/calendarofmarria33chur.pdf